


Bean Bags and Box TVs

by minhos_arms



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, M/M, More characters and tags will be added as i go, Slow Burn, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-14 23:39:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13600890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minhos_arms/pseuds/minhos_arms
Summary: James Potter and Sirius Black had left their shit to the last minute. They had two weeks until they started university and were still looking for housemates.Remus Lupin is anxious about moving in with a group of strangers.Peter Pettigrew, well he just really likes cheese.





	1. Prologue

As usual, James Potter and Sirius Black had left their shit to the last minute. They had two weeks until they started university and were still looking for housemates to fill up the four-bedroom apartment they’d found.

“Sirius! We’ve got another one!” James called, loud enough to be heard from the next room over.

“Great, who?” another voice called back.

“Some guy named ‘Peter’. He didn’t really say much except that he’s starting his first year too.” James looked up from his laptop as Sirius appeared at his bedroom door.

“That’s all he said?” Sirius replied, going to sit on the floor next to James’ bed.

“The full message says ‘You guys sound like absolute wankers…’”

Sirius let out an overly dramatic gasp, placing a hand on his chest. “Absolutely not! That fucker needs to watch his language! We’re not wankers, are we?”

James shrugged. “Well-”

“Actually don’t answer that. What’s the rest?”

“He says, “If you’re still looking for housemates then I’d be keen. Oh, P.S. I’m 19 and starting my first year too.’”

Sirius leaned back until his head hit the carpet. “Yeah he’ll do, might as well just take whoever we can get at this point.”

“Great! So it’s him and Remus - the guy that messaged us this morning then?” James asked while typing out a reply to Peter.

“Works for me. I guess I should go and finishing packing then,” Sirius said, making absolutely no effort to move from his place on James’ floor.

“Yeah and when you’re done you can start on mine,” said James, gesturing to the random piles of clothes, books, boxes and miscellaneous rubbish surrounding his bed. The fact that Sirius had even found a place to lie down in was astounding.

Sirius snorted. “Unlikely, mate.”


	2. Dead Grass

Remus checked and triple-checked the address written in the message before he left. He was starting to get anxious about moving in with a group of strangers. _It’s not too late to turn around,_ he reminded himself. _Mr. and Mrs. Evans don’t mind you staying with them a little longer._ But he knew that he had to take this step for himself. Lily and her family had done so much for him and he didn’t want to ask her for more than he needed. She had even let him borrow her car to move his things. Besides, Lily was moving to live on campus, so it was time for him to leave too.

Once he found the right street, it wasn’t hard for him to guess which house was the right one. It was, to put it lightly, the shittiest looking house in the whole area. No wonder the rent was so cheap for that suburb.

Remus only had to knock once before he heard a loud _thud_ , a voice yelling ‘FUCK’, and another person laughing. The door swung open and he was greeted by a tall boy with curly, black hair sticking out in every direction, random locks of it falling over his face. On the bridge of his freckled nose rested a pair of glasses that framed his hazel eyes. He was so effortlessly gorgeous that it made Remus feel desolate.

“Hi! I’m James. You must be…” The boy spoke, clearly trying to suppress a laugh.

“Oh, uh, I’m Rem-“ He was interrupted by a loud groan coming from behind James. Remus looked past him to see another boy sprawled on the floor, a mop of dark hair covering his face and hands clutching at his hip.

“Ughhh, I’ve been stabbed,” the boy moaned.

James laughed. “You ran into the counter. Stop being such a bloody drama queen.”

The boy looked up and noticed Remus standing in the doorway. Immediately, as if nothing had happened, he shot up off the floor and joined them, slinging an arm around James’ shoulders and holding out his other hand for Remus to shake. “Pleased to make your acquaintance… Peter?”

“Remus,” he replied, shaking the offered hand.

“I had a 50/50 chance there didn’t I?” he said. He turned to James and loudly whispered, “The fuck kind of name is ‘Remus’ anyway?”

James elbowed him in the side. “You’re one to talk, mate.”

“I’m sorry,” Remus started, “it’s James and…” He gestured to the other boy. He was slightly shorter than James, his dark brown hair grown down to his shoulders. He was wearing a leather jacket, black shirt, and black skinny jeans (in the middle of summer), obviously trying to go for the bad-boy look. Instead he just came off as a probably-broke university student who was in desperate need of a haircut.

“Oh! Sirius Black, your new housemate and best mate,” he announced, bowing dramatically. “And, if you will please follow me, _this_ is your new crib.” He wandered down the hall behind James, not bothering to make sure if the others followed or not.

“He’s always like that so don’t even ask,” James told Remus before ushering him inside.

 

Remus was given a quick tour of the house. It may have looked tiny from the outside but, to Remus’ surprise, was quite roomy once he stepped inside, though that may have just been due to the severe lack of furniture.

“Lounge and dining room,” Sirius said, nodding to a corner of the main room with only one small lounge and two bean bags on either side.

“Of course.”

Sirius pointed to the opposite side of the room. “Kitchen.”

“Clearly.”

“That door will take you out back; we actually have a _garden_.” Sirius turned and wiggled his eyebrows at Remus.

“Excellent!”

“It’s shit, it’s just dead grass,” added James.

Sirius waved him off and led Remus down a short hallway, James following in tow.

“One of these two will be your very own room, but first, I must show you the most important room in the house. Behind this door,” Sirius said, “Is the most breathtaking, outstanding, the most _beautiful_ room in this mansion. Feast your eyes, my dear Remus, on this.” He swung the door open to reveal a room barely big enough for the single bed that was currently occupying it.

“Wow,” Remus said, obviously unimpressed.

“‘Wow’, indeed.”

“And you’re sure he’s always like this?” Remus asked James.

James patted his shoulder. “Sorry, mate.”

“But Remus, James, do you not understand? This room here, _this_ is where the magic will happen.”

They both ignored him.

“Do you need a hand unpacking the car?” James offered.

“Oh, please.” They turned and left.

“Yep, right behind you.”

 

“You do have like, a bed and stuff, right?” Sirius asked Remus after they had unloaded Remus’ belongings from the car, taking only two trips between the three of them.

“What? No, I thought I’d be sharing with you,” Remus said, not skipping a beat. He let himself enjoy Sirius’ stunned silence for just a moment. “My friend is helping me with all that later this afternoon. I need to take her car back first.”

“Ohh, the friend is a _girl_ ,” said Sirius, recovering quickly and yet again wiggling his eyebrows at Remus.

“It’s not like that.”

“Invite her to the party tomorrow night! The more the merrier,” James said.

“The… party?” Remus had just started to think that maybe these guys would be alright. Maybe they’d be the type to keep to themselves after the initial get-to-know-you’s and give him the peace and quiet that he needed. But that was hoping for far too much.

James and Sirius shared a look. “Well… so you see-“ James started.

“So we were thinking-“

“We had this idea that we might have a little, uh-“

“Housewarming party, of sorts?”

James tried to save the situation. “Obviously we don’t have to, if you don’t want to!”

“Yes!” Sirius agreed. “Except that we’ve already invited all of our friends.”

“I don’t have a say in this at all, do I?” Remus asked the two. They just looked at each other sheepishly, willing the other person to answer that question.

“Look, mate, if you really don’t want to we can call it off. It’s not a big deal,” Sirius said.

Remus was surprised to hear how genuine his offer sounded. He sighed. “It’s fine. I’ll invite Lily. I’m sure she’d love to meet you.”

 

That afternoon, Lily and Remus borrowed Mr. Evans’ trailer to bring Remus’ bed to the house. When they arrived, Sirius and James weren’t there but they were instead greeted by a small, timid boy who introduced himself as Peter. He told them that the other two had gone to get groceries and left him in charge to “hold down the fort”.

Remus scoffed. “Yeah… “groceries”. They probably meant beer and snacks for their party tomorrow night.”

“Oh, Remus…” Lily said, sympathetically. “They didn’t give you a say in that one, did they?”

Remus just sighed, then shrugged. “It’s fine. They told me to invite you, actually.”

“Rem, if you don’t want to, we can do something else instead.” Lily knew Remus better than anybody. She knew he felt uncomfortable being around people he didn’t know and because of that, parties were a rare event for him. He was by no means a shy person, but being around so many new people that just want to _talk_ all the time was exhausting, let alone the day after making a big move.

“It’s ok, Lil, really. Just… please come.”

They were best friends; she’d do anything for him. She smiled. “Of course.”

“I’m sorry, we’re having a party tomorrow night?” Peter finally asked.

Lily laughed. Remus gave him a small smile and said, “I think you and I are going to have a lot to get used to around here.”


	3. Double Cheese Pizza

Remus was exhausted from the move and tried to sleep in the next morning, but was woken by loud yelling (...singing?) coming from the bathroom that was right next to the bedroom that he stupidly chose. It sounded suspiciously like a Nickleback song, but how Remus even recognised it he wasn’t sure. He figured he probably wouldn’t fall back asleep and got up to make himself a coffee. He opened his door right as Sirius was leaving the bathroom, wearing nothing but a towel around his hips.

“‘Morning, Remus. Did you enjoy my performance?” he asked, either not noticing or choosing to ignore the slight blush across Remus’ cheeks.

Remus kept his eyes trained on Sirius’ face. “It was definitely something. Though I must admit, with your whole “punk” vibe going on I would’ve expected you to have a slightly better taste in music.”

Sirius gasped. “You wound me, Remus! Just you wait until tonight. I’ll be playing nothing but hits, then you’ll see.”

Remus had already turned away and was heading to the kitchen. “Can’t wait,” he called back.

 

The rest of the day passed quickly between the unpacking that the group had to do and the few visitors that showed up in the afternoon. James’ parents, Mr. and Mrs. Potter, stopped by to drop off a box that he must have left behind, though Remus guessed that they just wanted an excuse to come and see the house. Peter’s mum did the same.

 

At around 4pm, a friend of James and Sirius’ (who introduced himself as Arthur) came over with a television for them.

“Sorry, I know it’s not the best, but it should work alright,” he had said, lifting the old box TV into the lounge room with Sirius’ help. Arthur was shorter, but looked to be a few years older than all of them. Peter stood by with his hands out awkwardly, wanting to offer help but not really sure how to.

“Thanks, man. We owe you one,” said James.

Arthur stood and dusted off his hands on his jeans. “Forget it, it’s nothing.”

“Molly might have mentioned it but we’re having a housewarming party here tonight, if you want to come,” Sirius offered.

“Yeah, cheers. I’ll see what she thinks, she’s the boss.” He picked up his car keys from the kitchen counter. “Alright, I might see you later then. Nice to meet you Peter, Remus.”

“Likewise. See you,” Remus said, kneeling at the TV to start connecting all of the cables.

“Nice bloke,” said Peter, after Arthur had closed the door behind him.

Sirius collapsed into a bean bag, apparently satisfied with his contribution. “Yeah, he’s weird but we like him.”

“He likes collecting antique appliances,” James said. “Hence…” He hit the top of the television. “This bad boy.”

“We’re friends with his wife’s twin brothers,” said Sirius.

“Wife? He doesn’t seem that old,” said Peter, joining him on the other bean bag, apparently satisfied with the contribution that he had _tried_ to offer.

James, on the other hand, knelt down to give Remus a hand. “They were one of those pairs that find each other really early on. The Weasleys and the Prewetts, his wife’s family, they go way back.”

“And the Potters!” Sirius called, unhelpfully, from his bean bag chair.

“Anyway,” James continued, “Molly and Arthur were already pretty close when they got their first marks so it didn’t take them long to figure out that they were each other’s soulmates.”

At the mention of soulmates, Remus subconsciously scratched at his mark behind his ear. A soulmate mark was like a tattoo that was somehow symbolic of your supposed soulmate. Most people had them, though people who never ended up with a mark weren’t uncommon. People were rarely born with them (they usually appeared over one’s lifetime), and most people had more than one. Remus’ mark was small and usually hidden by his hair, yet he still found it strangely intriguing and comforting at times.

Peter looked as if he was mentally trying to piece together the family tree in his head.

“I swear it’s really not as complicated as we just made it sound,” said Sirius.

Remus connected the last cable to the back of the ancient television. “Voilà! That should work.”

James applauded him, having not actually been much of a help. “Bellissimo!”

“Yeah, yeah. Bonjour, enchilada! Let’s start her up,” said Sirius.

Peter grabbed the remote. “Oui, oui!”

 

An hour later, the four would still be found in their lounge room, having not moved except for James, who went to the front door to pay for their pizza delivery. As it turned out, the TV that Arthur had given them was barely functional. It could only receive the signal for three different channels and the volume didn’t work at all. “That’s just classic,” Peter had said.

As a result, James and Sirius were trying to do voice-overs for different characters in a random soap-opera that they’d found (through mouthfuls of pizza, of course).

The middle aged man and woman in the show were having what looked to be a very intense conversation. One was probably accusing the other of having an affair or whatever normally happened in those types of shows. Things were a little more dramatic in James and Sirius’ version, however. Their version ended up having a missing grandfather and an implied murder mystery sub-plot. At one point in the episode, a third character came through the door. The younger boy, voiced by Remus (Peter had too much pizza stuffed in his mouth to speak clearly), was revealed to be the time-travelling missing grandfather, the murder victim, and the murderer.

“That was gripping!” said Peter as the credits rolled.

“Tune in next week to learn more of Grandfather’s dark history. ‘My Missing Grandfather’, 5pm, Saturday,” said Remus in his best TV presenter voice. The others laughed.

They sat in silence for a little while, eating their dinner as the evening news started.

Sirius looked over to Peter eating his double-cheese-and-nothing-else pizza. ”Mate, you’ve eaten so much cheese that if you were an animal, I reckon you’d be a rat,” he said.

Peter nodded in agreement. “I really can’t argue with that. Just call me…” He paused to think, taking a bite of pizza while he did so. “Rat Boy.”

James laughed. “Fantastic!”

Remus suppressed a smile. “Yeah. That’s really creative, Pete,” he said, sarcastically.

“Don’t worry, Rat Boy,” said Sirius. “I’ll think of a better one for you.” He leant back in his bean bag, crossing his arms and closing his eyes, as if that would help him concentrate.

James chuckled. “Oh here we go. Sirius always comes up with the weirdest names for things. A few years ago, Mum and Dad adopted a dog and he suggested they name it ‘Padfoot’.”

Sirius opened one eye to look over at James on the couch. “Yeah? And tell them what they decided to name it instead.”

James mumbled, “They called him Snuffles instead…” He sighed again, while Peter and Remus laughed through mouthfuls of pizza. “It’s not really much better, is it? Anyway, we started calling _him_ Padfoot for a while, since his name means ‘dog’ or something. I don’t know, it has something to do with astrology.”

“Astronomy,” Sirius corrected, closing his eyes again but smiling slightly at the memory.

“Close enough.”

“How come he hasn’t come up with a name for you yet, James?” Remus asked him.

“He usually just goes for ‘wanker’ or ‘prick’ or ‘ladies man’.”

“I’ve never used that last one,” said Sirius, not even looking at him this time.

James shrugged. “It was worth a try.”

“Now shut up, would you?” Sirius sunk further into the bean bag. “I need to focus my brilliance on coming up with a creative name for Pete.”

Remus chuckled. “Your brilliance? Is that what you’re calling it?”

Sirius jumped up from the bean bag and stuck a finger in Remus face. “You’ll be next, Remus! Give me some time and I’ll have come up with terrible nicknames for all of you ungrateful brats. Mark my words.” He turned on his heel and went to his bedroom. Remus just rolled his eyes again.

Peter finally finished his abomination of a pizza and brushed his crumby hands on his shorts. “Wow. You really weren’t kidding when you said he was always dramatic,” he said to James.

James started collecting the empty pizza boxes. “You have no idea.”


End file.
